An enclave within the Graves
Cérons occupies delimited plots across three communes — Cérons, Illats and Podensac — some thirty kilometres south-east of Bordeaux, on the left bank of the Garonne. The appellation forms an enclave within the Graves, bordering Sauternes country. Its production is limited, and an increasing number of winegrowers there also produce reds (under other appellations), so that the sweet white has become scarcer.
The wine: overripening and successive harvesting passes
Cérons is a sweet white made from grapes picked at overripeness, through successive manual harvesting passes (tries) as in neighbouring Sauternes. The musts must reach a high sugar content (more than 200 grams per litre), producing wines of at least 12.5% alcohol. Sémillon, muscadelle and sauvignon make up the blend.
The style of the wines
Without reaching the concentration or opulence of a Sauternes, Cérons wines are fine, elegant whites, lighter and more vivacious, with measured sweetness. They cellar readily for five to fifteen years and offer an appealing — and affordable — introduction to the world of Bordeaux's sweet wines.